In an article on CrimeReads, Keith Roysdon examines the history of America’s traveling “ghost shows.” “True ghost shows were an evening’s worth of entertainment,” Roysdon says. “Usually starting not long before midnight, these shows were staged in a movie theater and combined a magic act (with an emphasis on horror-tinged magic like swords through comely assistants) and a live-action horror skit (Frankenstein’s monster lurching around the stage) and a blackout period (in which phosphorescent-painted “ghosts” were flown on wires over the heads of the audience) and, usually starting at midnight, a screening of a classic or not-so-classic old black-and-white horror film.”
With roots going back to 18th century France, the major elements of ghost shows were developed in 19th century England–such as in a ghost illusion used in the stager production of A Christmas Carol–and grew in the United States with spiritualism acts. Popular during the Depression, many of the shows took a break for World War II. When they returned, they added horror themes and monster movies to their repertoire.
Magic acts, copious stage blood, phony spiritualists, ersatz movie monsters, horror films – sounds like a great backdrop for a novel. What happens next?
